Modular Coordination-based Generative Algorithm to Optimize Construction Waste

© 2017 The Authors. In response to the growing attention to sustainable built environment, this study aims at introducing an approach in construction waste optimization through integrating parametric design with offsite construction methodology. To this end, a generative algorithm was developed within the integrated platform of Rhino and Grasshopper software based on modular coordination rules and ASTM international standards as the design constraints in modules array. Two sets of horizontal and vertical modules were obtained from a prototype model while an evolutionary solver function was employed for optimizing the generated waste. This resulted in developing different modular design variants which generate the minimum amount of waste while being fully compliant with international standards. This study contributes to the field by presenting one of the first studies in its kind focusing on the integration of parametric design into offsite construction methodology through the lenses of construction waste optimization

Further investigations on the biology of Phomopsis cinerascens, the cause of fig canker in Iran

Fig branch canker is a major disease in most parts of Iran, especially in Estahban (Fars province), which has the largest area of dry fig plantations in that country. In 1999–2000 a general survey was conducted in rainfed fig plantations throughout Fars province. In this survey Phomopsis cinerascens was consistently isolated from the cankers. . The fungus produced pycnidia containing α-conidia on active cankers from fall to mid spring. No β-conidia were found under natural conditions, but many isolates produced β-conidia intermixed with α-conidia in culture. Only α-conidia germinated on agar medium. The optimum temperature for growth, pycnidial formation and pycnidiospore germination was 25°C. Pathogenicity tests revealed that the fungus infected inoculated branches at 15–25°C but no infection occurred at 5°C or at 30°C or higher. Under field conditions, the pathogen infected branches from fall to mid spring, but little infection occurred in summer. The pruning wounds remained receptive to the pathogen from fall to mid spring. Pycnidiospores that over-summered on trees or on branches lying on orchard floors were not viable. Infected branches under moist conditions produced new pycnidia containing viable conidia. Mycelia are considered important for over-summering the pathogen in Fars province

Development of specific nanobodies (VHH) for CD19 immunotargeting of human B-Lymphocytes

Objective(s): CD19 is a transmembrane glycoprotein of immunoglobulin superfamily. In order to treat lymphoma, monoclonal antibodies (mAb) can target different antigens, including CD19, CD20 and CD22 on the surface of B-cells. Along with biotechnology progress, a new generation of antibodies is introduced, with the purpose of eliminating the defects of the previous generation. Among the most developed one are nanobodies (Nb). Nbs are a unique kind of camelid single domain antibody fragments with a broad range of medical applications. Unique physicochemical properties of Nbs have made them ideal candidates for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Materials and Methods: An immune gene library was created, and several CD19 specific Nbs were selected through antigen panning process, and their molecular properties as well as specificity, sensitivity, affinity and immunoreactivity against CD19 positive and negative cells were evaluated. Results: The Nb library was prepared with 7.2 �107 members. We managed to isolate a panel of CD19- specific Nbs after the last round of selection with the affinity of isolated Nbs being estimated at the standard range of 15-35 nM. Sequence analysis of positive clones was indicative of the fact that 12 variable sequences were confirmed. Of all these 12 clones, 2 clones with the greatest level signal in ELISA underwent subsequent analysis. Our sequencing results indicated high sequence homology (approximately 90) between the Nb and Homa variable immunoglobulin domains. Conclusion: Specific Nbs possess the potential to be used as novel therapeutic approaches in order to treat autoimmune diseases and B-cell lymphoma. © 2018, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Development of specific nanobodies (VHH) for CD19 immunotargeting of human B-Lymphocytes

Objective(s): CD19 is a transmembrane glycoprotein of immunoglobulin superfamily. In order to treat lymphoma, monoclonal antibodies (mAb) can target different antigens, including CD19, CD20 and CD22 on the surface of B-cells. Along with biotechnology progress, a new generation of antibodies is introduced, with the purpose of eliminating the defects of the previous generation. Among the most developed one are nanobodies (Nb). Nbs are a unique kind of camelid single domain antibody fragments with a broad range of medical applications. Unique physicochemical properties of Nbs have made them ideal candidates for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Materials and Methods: An immune gene library was created, and several CD19 specific Nbs were selected through antigen panning process, and their molecular properties as well as specificity, sensitivity, affinity and immunoreactivity against CD19 positive and negative cells were evaluated. Results: The Nb library was prepared with 7.2 �107 members. We managed to isolate a panel of CD19- specific Nbs after the last round of selection with the affinity of isolated Nbs being estimated at the standard range of 15-35 nM. Sequence analysis of positive clones was indicative of the fact that 12 variable sequences were confirmed. Of all these 12 clones, 2 clones with the greatest level signal in ELISA underwent subsequent analysis. Our sequencing results indicated high sequence homology (approximately 90) between the Nb and Homa variable immunoglobulin domains. Conclusion: Specific Nbs possess the potential to be used as novel therapeutic approaches in order to treat autoimmune diseases and B-cell lymphoma. © 2018, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Controlled hypotension during rhinoplasty: A comparison of dexmedetomidine with magnesium sulfate

Objective: The current study aimed at comparing the efficacy of dexmedetomidine and magnesium sulfate to control blood pressure (BP) during rhinoplasty and the resultant effects on the quality of surgical field in terms of bleeding and visibility. Methods: The current randomized, prospective, double-blind study was conducted on 60 patients aged 18 to 50 years classified as ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) physical status I who were candidates for rhinoplasty. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: (1) group Dex, received 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine in 10 minutes before induction of anesthesia, followed by 0.4 - 0.6 µg/kg/hour during the maintenance of anesthesia, and (2) group Mg, received 40 mg/kg in 10 minutes before anesthesia induction followed by 10 - 15 mg/kg/hour during anesthesia maintenance. In both groups, the goal was to achieve a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 60 - 70 mmHg. Hemodynamic variables, anesthetic, opioid, muscle relaxant requirements, and surgical field condition were recorded. Sedation score, time to reach modified Aldrete score � 9, and adverse effects including nausea and vomiting (N&V) and shivering were recorded. Results: Controlled hypotension was achieved in both groups. There was no significant difference in MAP between the groups, but heart rate (HR) was significantly lower in the Dex group (P < 0.001), compared with that of the Mg group. Bleeding score was lower (P < 0.001) and surgeon�s satisfaction score was higher (P < 0.001) in the Dex group. More patients required fentanyl (P < 0.001) or nitroglycerin (P < 0.001) and the mean fentanyl (P = 0.005) or nitroglycerin (P < 0.001) required doses were higher in the Mg group. Patients in the Dex group required more frequent administration of cisatracurium (P = 0.004). Five patients in the Dex group versus no patients in the Mg group received atropine (P = 0.023). Ramsay sedation score and time to reach modified Aldrete score � 9 were significantly higher in the Dex group (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The incidence rate of N&V and shivering were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine was more effective than magnesium to achieve controlled hypotension, and provide a favorable surgical field condition. However, dexmedetomidine also heightened the risk of induced bradycardia and prolonged sedation. These are 2 important points to consider when applying this drug as a hypotensive agent during operation. © 2017, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Chemotherapy-Response Monitoring of Breast Cancer Patients Using Quantitative Ultrasound-Based Intra-Tumour Heterogeneities

© 2017 The Author(s). Anti-cancer therapies including chemotherapy aim to induce tumour cell death. Cell death introduces alterations in cell morphology and tissue micro-structures that cause measurable changes in tissue echogenicity. This study investigated the effectiveness of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parametric imaging to characterize intra-tumour heterogeneity and monitor the pathological response of breast cancer to chemotherapy in a large cohort of patients (n = 100). Results demonstrated that QUS imaging can non-invasively monitor pathological response and outcome of breast cancer patients to chemotherapy early following treatment initiation. Specifically, QUS biomarkers quantifying spatial heterogeneities in size, concentration and spacing of acoustic scatterers could predict treatment responses of patients with cross-validated accuracies of 82 ± 0.7%, 86 ± 0.7% and 85 ± 0.9% and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.75 ± 0.1, 0.80 ± 0.1 and 0.89 ± 0.1 at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the start of treatment, respectively. The patients classified as responders and non-responders using QUS biomarkers demonstrated significantly different survivals, in good agreement with clinical and pathological endpoints. The results form a basis for using early predictive information on survival-linked patient response to facilitate adapting standard anti-cancer treatments on an individual patient basis

Vaccination with recombinant 4×M2e.HSP70c fusion protein as a universal vaccine candidate enhances both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and decreases viral shedding against experimental challenge of H9N2 influenza in chickens

As cellular immunity is essential for virus clearance, it is commonly accepted that no adequate cellular immunity is achieved by all available inactivated HA-based influenza vaccines. Thus, an improved influenza vaccine to induce both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses is urgently required to control LPAI H9N2 outbreaks in poultry farms. M2e-based vaccines have been suggested and developed as a new generation of universal vaccine candidate against influenza A infection. Our previous study have shown that a prime-boost administration of recombinant 4 × M2e. HSP70c (r4M2e/H70c) fusion protein compared to conventional HA-based influenza vaccines provided full protection against lethal dose of influenza A viruses in mice. In the present study, the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of (r4M2e/H70c) was examined in chickens. The data reported herein show that protection against H9N2 viral challenge was significantly increased in chickens by injection of r4M2e/H70c compared with injection of conventional HA-based influenza vaccine adjuvanted with MF59 or recombinant 4 × M2e (r4M2e) without HSP70c. Oropharyngeal and cloacal shedding of the virus was detected in all of the r4M2e/H70c vaccinated birds at 2 days after challenge, but the titer was low and decreased rapidly to reach undetectable levels at 7 days after challenge. Moreover, comparison of protective efficacy against LPAI H9N2 in birds intramuscularly immunized with r4M2e/H70c likely represented the ability of the M2e-based vaccine in providing cross-protection against heterosubtypic H9N2 challenge and also allowed the host immune system to induce HA-homosubtype neutralizing antibody against H9N2 challenge. This protective immunity might be attributed to enhanced cell-mediated immunity, which is interpreted as increased lymphocytes proliferation, increased levels of Th1-type (IFN-γ) and Th2-type (IL-4) cytokines production and increased CD4+ to CD8+ ratios, resulting from the injection of four tandem repeats of the ectodomain of the conserved influenza matrix protein M2 (4×M2e) genetically fused to C-terminus of Mycobacterium tuberculosis HSP70 (mHSP70c). © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Health-care access and utilization among individuals with low back pain in Iran: a WHO-ILAR COPCORD study

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a major contributor to chronic pain and disability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate health-care access and utilization among patients with LBP in Iran. We also sought to study the pattern and characteristics of care-utilization behavior in these patients. Methods: Data from the Community Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) were used for this study. Three cities (Zahedan, Sanandaj, Yazd) were selected to represent the Iranian population, with different socioeconomic status and ethnic, cultural, and religious background. Demographic data, acute or chronic LBP, disability index, and utilizing care from conventional medicine (CM), allied health providers (AHP), and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers were recorded. Results: Of 9101 patients, 38.6 reported LBP. Only 3.3 did not utilize care of any kind, 66.7 referred to CM providers, 20.8 to AHP, and 9.2 to CAM care. Health-care utilization was higher in female patients, older age, higher education, and higher disability index. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate a high rate of health-care utilization among patients with LBP in Iran. CM is the most prevalent health-care resource sought by patients. These findings could be used as a framework in developing more efficient health-care programs according to the needs of specific populations. © 2020 The Author(s)

Progress towards Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) implementation in Iran: obstacles and bottlenecks

Background: Neonatal mortality accounts for more than 47 of deaths among children under five globally but proper care at and around the time of birth could prevent about two-thirds of these deaths. The Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) offers a plan and vision to improve and achieve equitable and high-quality care for mothers and newborns. We applied the bottleneck analysis tool offered by ENAP to identify obstacles and bottlenecks hindering the scale-up of newborn care across seven health system building blocks. Methods: We applied the every newborn bottleneck analysis tool to identify obstacles hindering the scale-up of newborn care across seven health system building blocks. We used qualitative methods to collect data from five medical universities and their corresponding hospitals in three provinces. We also interviewed other national experts, key informants, and stakeholders in neonatal care. In addition, we reviewed and qualitatively analyzed the performance report of neonatal care and services from 16 medical universities around the country. Results: We identified many challenges and bottlenecks in the scale-up of newborn care in Iran. The major obstacles included but were not limited to the lack of a single leading and governing entity for newborn care, insufficient financial resources for neonatal care services, insufficient number of skilled health professionals, and inadequate patient transfer. Conclusions: To address identified bottlenecks in neonatal health care in Iran, some of our recommendations were as follows: establishing a single national authorizing and leading entity, allocating specific budget to newborn care, matching high-quality neonatal health care providers to the needs of all urban and rural areas, maintaining clear policies on the distribution of NICUs to minimize the need for patient transfer, and using the available and reliable private sector NICU ambulances for safe patient transfer. © 2021, The Author(s)

Investigation of chromosomal abnormalities and microdeletion/ microduplication(s) in fifty Iranian patients with multiple congenital anomalies

Objective: Major birth defects are inborn structural or functional anomalies with long-term disability and adverse impacts on individuals, families, health-care systems, and societies. Approximately 20 of birth defects are due to chromosomal and genetic conditions. Inspired by the fact that neonatal deaths are caused by birth defects in about 20 and 10 of cases in Iran and worldwide respectively, we conducted the present study to unravel the role of chromosome abnormalities, including microdeletion/microduplication(s), in multiple congenital abnormalities in a number of Iranian patients. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 50 sporadic patients with Multiple Congenital Anomalies (MCA) were selected. The techniques employed included conventional karyotyping, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), and array comparative genomic hybridisation (array-CGH), according to the clinical diagnosis for each patient. Results: Chromosomal abnormalities and microdeletion/microduplication(s) were observed in eight out of fifty patients (16). The abnormalities proved to result from the imbalances in chromosomes 1, 3, 12, and 18 in four of the patients. However, the other four patients were diagnosed to suffer from the known microdeletions of 22q11.21, 16p13.3, 5q35.3, and 7q11.23. Conclusion: In the present study, we report a patient with 46,XY, der(18)12/46,XY, der(18), +mar8 dn presented with MCA associated with hypogammaglobulinemia. Given the patient�s seemingly rare and highly complex chromosomal abnormality and the lack of any concise mechanism presented in the literature to justify the case, we hereby propose a novel mechanism for the formation of both derivative and ring chromosome 18. In addition, we introduce a new 12q abnormality and a novel association of an Xp22.33 duplication with 1q43q44 deletion syndrome. The phenotype analysis of the patients with chromosome abnormality would be beneficial for further phenotype-genotype correlation studies. © 2019 Royan Institute (ACECR). All rights reserved